This article is about the Greek god Eros. For the philosophical and psychological use of the word, seeEros (concept). For other uses, seeEros (disambiguation).
Eros
God of love, lust, desire and sex Primordial god and personification of love
He is usually presented as a handsome young man, though in some appearances he is a juvenile boy full of mischief, ever in the company of his mother. In both cases, he is winged and carries his signature bow and arrows, which he uses to make both mortals and immortal gods fall in love, often under the guidance of Aphrodite. His role in myths is mostly complementary, and he often appears in the presence of Aphrodite and the other love gods and often acts as a catalyst for people to fall in love, but has little unique mythology of his own; the most major exception being the myth ofEros and Psyche, the story of how he met and fell in love with his wife.
Eros and Cupid, are also known, in art tradition, as aPutto (pl. Putti). The Putto's iconography seemed to have, later, influenced the figure known as aCherub (pl. Cherubim). The Putti and the Cherubim can be found throughout theMiddle Ages and theRenaissance inChristian art.[5](pp 2–4) This latter iteration of Eros/Cupid became a major icon and symbol ofValentine's Day.[6]
The Greekἔρως,éros meaning 'desire' (whenceeroticism) comes from the verbἔραμαι,éramai and ininfinitive formἐρᾶσθαι,erãsthai 'to desire, love',[7] itself of uncertain etymology.R. S. P. Beekes speculates aPre-Greek origin.[8]
Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (thecosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and texts referring to themystery religions), he is one of theprimordial gods involved in the coming into being of the cosmos. In later sources, however, Eros is represented as the son of Aphrodite, whose mischievous interventions in the affairs of gods and mortals cause bonds of love to form, often illicitly. Ultimately, in the later satirical poets, he is represented as a blindfolded child, the precursor to the chubby Renaissance Cupid, whereas in early Greek poetry and art, Eros was depicted as a young adult male who embodies sexual power, and a profound artist.[9]
A cult of Eros existed in pre-classical Greece, but it was much less important than that of Aphrodite. However, in late antiquity, Eros was worshiped by a fertility cult inThespiae. InAthens, he shared a very popular cult with Aphrodite, and the fourth day of every month was sacred to him (also shared by Herakles, Hermes and Aphrodite).[10]
He had the epithetKlêidouchos (Κλειδοῦχος), meaning holding/bearing the keys, because he was holding the key to hearts.[14] In addition, he had the epithetPandemos (Πάνδημος, "common to all the people").[15]
Etruscan or Greek mirror with an engraved depiction of Eros with lyre
According toHesiod'sTheogony (c. 700 BC), one of the most ancient of Greek sources, Eros (Love) was the fourth god to come into existence, coming afterChaos,Gaia (Earth), andTartarus.[16]
Homer does not mention Eros. However,Parmenides (c. 400 BC), one of thepre-Socratic philosophers, makes Eros the first of all the gods to come into existence.[17]
Aristophanes, in his comedyThe Birds (414 BC), presents a parody of a cosmogony which has been considered Orphic,[18] in which Eros is born from an egg laid by Night (Nyx):
At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus. Earth, the air and heaven had no existence. Firstly, blackwinged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated in deep Tartarus with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light.[19]
In some versions the Orphic Egg which contains Eros is created byChronos, and it is Eros who boreNyx as his daughter and took her as his consort. Eros was called "Protogonos" meaning "first-born" because he was the first of the immortals that could be conceived by man, and was thought of as the creator of all other beings and the first ruler of the universe. Nyx bore to Eros the godsGaia andOuranos. Eros passes his scepter of power toNyx, who then passes it to Ouranos. The primordial Eros was also calledPhanes ('illuminated one'),Erikepaios ('power'), Metis ('thought') and Dionysus. Zeus was said to have swallowed Phanes (Eros), and absorbing his powers of creation remade the world anew, such that Zeus was then both creator and ruler of the universe. The Orphics also thought that Dionysus was an incarnation of the primordial Eros, and that Zeus (the modern ruler) passed the scepter of power to Dionysus. Thus Eros was the first ruler of the universe, and as Dionysus he regained the scepter of power once again.[20]
In later myths, he was the son ofAphrodite. The 6th-to-5th-century BC lyric poetSimonides considered him to be the son of Aphrodite andAres.[21]
[Hera addresses Athena:]
"We must have a word with Aphrodite. Let us go together and ask her to persuade her boy [Eros], if that is possible, to loose an arrow atAeetes's daughter,Medea of the many spells, and make her fall in love withJason ..." (Argonautica)[22]
"He [Eros] smites maids' breasts with unknown heat, and bids the very gods leave heaven and dwell on earth in borrowed forms." (Phaedra)[23]
"Once, when Venus' son [Eros] was kissing her, his quiver dangling down, a jutting arrow, unbeknown, had grazed her breast. She pushed the boy away. In fact the wound was deeper than it seemed, though unperceived at first. [And she became] enraptured by the beauty of a man [Adonis]." (Metamorphoses)[24]
"Eros drove Dionysos mad for the girl [Aura] with the delicious wound of his arrow, then curving his wings flew lightly to Olympus. And the god roamed over the hills scourged with a greater fire." (Dionysiaca)[25]
The story ofEros and Psyche has a longstanding tradition as a folktale of the ancient Greco-Roman world long before it was committed to literature inApuleius'sLatin novel,The Golden Ass. The novel itself is written in a picaresque Roman style, yet Psyche retains her Greek name even though Eros and Aphrodite are called by their Latin names (Cupid and Venus). Also, Cupid is depicted as a young adult, rather than a fat winged child (putto amorino).[26]
The story tells of the quest for love and trust between Eros and Psyche. Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of mortal princess Psyche, as men were leaving her altars barren to worship a mere mortal woman instead, and so she commanded her son Eros, the god of love, to cause Psyche to fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. Instead, Eros falls in love with Psyche himself and spirits her away to his home. Their fragile peace is ruined by a visit from Psyche's jealous sisters, who cause Psyche to betray the trust of her husband. Wounded both emotionally and physically, Eros leaves his wife, and Psyche wanders the Earth, looking for her lost love. She visits the Temple of Demeter and the Temple of Hera looking for advice. Eventually, she finds her way to Aphrodite's temple and approaches Aphrodite asking for her help. Aphrodite imposes four difficult tasks on Psyche, which she is able to achieve by means of supernatural assistance.
After successfully completing these tasks, Aphrodite relents. After a near death experience, Zeus turns Psyche into an immortal to live amongst the gods with her husband Eros. Together they had a daughter, Voluptas orHedone (meaning physical pleasure, bliss).
In Greek mythology, Psyche was the deification of the human soul. She was portrayed in ancient mosaics as a goddess with butterfly wings (becausepsyche was also the Ancient Greek word for "butterfly"). The Greek wordpsyche literally means "soul, spirit, breath, life, or animating force".
In theGnostic narrative found inOn the Origin of the World, Eros, during the universe's creation, is scattered in all the creatures ofChaos, existing between the midpoint of light and darkness as well as the angels and people. Later, Psyche pours her blood upon him, causing the first rose to sprout up on the Earth, followed by every flower and herb.[27]
Eros features in twoDionysus-related myths. In the first, Eros madeHymnus, a young shepherd, to fall in love with the beautifulNaiadNicaea. Nicaea never reciprocated Hymnus's affection, and he in desperation asked her to kill him. She fulfilled his wish, but Eros, disgusted with Nicaea's actions, made Dionysus fall in love with her by hitting him with a love arrow. Nicaea rejected Dionysus, so he filled the spring she used to drink from with wine. Intoxicated, Nicaea lay to rest as Dionysus forced himself on her. Afterwards, she sought to find him seeking revenge, but never found him.[28]
In the other, one ofArtemis's maiden nymphsAura boasted of being better than her mistress, due to having a virgin's body, as opposed to Artemis's sensuous and lush figure, thereby bringing into question Artemis's virginity. Artemis, angered, askedNemesis, the goddess of vengeance and retribution, to avenge her, and Nemesis ordered Eros to make Dionysus fall in love with Aura. The tale then continues in the same manner as Nicaea's myth; Dionysus gets Aura drunk and then rapes her.[29]
Statuette of Eros with his mother Aphrodite, 2nd-1st cent. BC,Eretria.
Eros made two chaste hunting companions of Artemis,Rhodopis and Euthynicus, to fall in love with each other at the behest of his mother Aphrodite, who took offence at them rejecting her domain of love and marriage. Artemis then punished Rhodopis by turning her into a fountain.[30][31]
In another myth, Eros and Aphrodite played in a meadow, and had a light competition about which would gather the most flowers. Eros was in the lead thanks to his swift wings, but then a nymph namedPeristera ("dove") gathered some flowers herself and handed them over to Aphrodite, making her victorious. Eros turned Peristera into a dove.[32]
According toPorphyrius,Themis, the goddess of justice, played a role in Eros growing up. His mother Aphrodite once complained to Themis that Eros did not grow and remained a perpetual child, so Themis advised her to give him a brother. Aphrodite then gave birth to Anteros (meaning "counter-love"), and whenever he was near him, Eros grew. But if Anteros was away, Eros shrank back to his previous, smaller size.[33]
Another time, when Eros had assumed his child-like appearance and tried bending his bow, the godApollo, who was similarly an archer god as well, mocked him by saying that he should leave the weapons to the older gods, and bragged about his slaying ofPython. Eros was angered, so he immediately struck Apollo with a love arrow, making him fall in love withDaphne, a virginal nymph of the woods. In the same fashion he struck Daphne with a lead arrow, which had the opposite effect, and made the nymph be repulsed by Apollo and his ardent wooing. In the end, Daphne would be transformed into a tree in order to escape the god's advances.[34]
Eros is imagined as a beautiful youth who carries bow and powerful arrows which he uses to make anyone fall madly in love.Ovid, a Roman author, elaborates on Eros's arsenal and specifies that Eros carries two kinds of arrows; the first are his golden arrows which induce a powerful feeling of love and affection on their target. The second kind are made of lead instead, and have the opposite effect; they make people averse to love, and fill their hearts with hatred.[34] This is mostly utilized in the story of Daphne and Apollo, where Eros made Apollo fall in love with the nymph, and Daphne to detest any forms of romance. Meanwhile, in Ovid's tale of Persephone's abduction by Hades, the abduction is initiated by Aphrodite and Eros; Aphrodite commands Eros to make Hades fall in love with his niece, so that their domain can reach the Underworld. Eros has to use his strongest possible arrow to make Hades's stern heart melt.[35]
In anAnacreon fragment, preserved byAthenaeus, the author laments how Eros struck him with a purple ball, making him fall in love with a woman who is attracted to other women, and shuns him over his white hair.[36]
Eros is characterized as a mighty entity who controls everyone, and even immortals cannot escape.Lucian satirized this concept in hisDialogues of the Gods, whereZeus chides Eros for making him fall in love with and then deceive so many mortal women, and even his mother Aphrodite advises him against using all the gods as his playthings. Nevertheless, Eros could not touch any of the virgin goddesses (Hestia,Athena and Artemis) who had all taken a vow of purity.Sappho writes of Artemis that "limb-loosening Eros never goes near her."[37]
A repetitive motif in ancient poetry included Eros being stung by bees. The story is first found in theAnacreontea, attributed to sixth century BC authorAnacreon, and goes that Eros once went to his mother Aphrodite crying about being stung by a bee, and compared the small creature to a snake with wings. Aphrodite then asks him, if he thinks the bee's sting hurts so much, what he thinks about the pain his own arrows cause.[38]
Theocritus, coming a bit later during the fourth century BC, expanded the anecdote a little in hisIdylls (Idyll XIX). Little Eros is stung by bees when he attempts to steal honey from their beehive. The bees pierce all of his fingers. He runs to his mother crying, and muses how creatures this small and cause pain so big. Aphrodite smiles and compares him to the bees, as he too is small, and causes pain much greater than his size.[38]
This little tale was retold in antiquity andRenaissance many times.
Erxias (Ἐρξίας) wrote that theSamians consecrated a gymnasium to Eros. The festival instituted in his honour was called theEleutheria (Ἐλευθέρια), meaning "liberty".[11][12]
TheLacedaemonians offered sacrifices to Eros before they went into battle, thinking that safety and victory depend on the friendship of those who stand side by side in the battle. In addition, theCretans offered sacrifices to Eros in their line of battle.[11][12]
Statue of Eros sleeping; 3rd–2nd century BC; bronze; 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2 cm, 124.7 kg, height with base: 45.7 cm;Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Figure of wingless Eros; 20–60 AD; cast bronze and silver inlay; 17.2 × 9.5 × 6.8 cm; Walters Art Museum
Eros Stringing his Bow, a Roman copy from theCapitoline Museum of a Greek original byLysippos; 2nd century AD; marble; height: 123 cm; Capitoline Museum (Rome)
Armed Aphrodite with young Eros.
The Victory of Eros; byAngelica Kauffman; 1750–1775; oil on canvas; Metropolitan Museum of Art
^A. Corso,Concerning the catalogue of Praxiteles' exhibition held in the Louvre. Conference paper presented at ИНДОЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ ЯЗЫКОЗНАНИЕ И КЛАССИЧЕСКАЯ ФИЛОЛОГИЯ – 11 June 2007; p. 159
^Hesiod,Theogony116–122 states thatGaia,Tartarus and Eros come afterChaos, but this does not necessarily mean that they are the offspring of Chaos.Gantz, pp.4–5 writes that, "[w]ith regard to all three of these figures—Gaia, Tartaros, and Eros—we should note that Hesiod does not say they arosefrom (as opposed toafter) Chaos, although this is often assumed". Hard 2004,p. 23 says that "[a]lthough it is quite often assumed that all three are born out of Chaos as her offspring, this is not stated by Hesiod nor indeed implied, governed by the same verbgeneto ('came to be'). Gaia, Tartaros and Eros are best regarded as being primal realities like Chaos that came into existence independently of her". Similarly, Caldwell, pp.3,35 says that theTheogony "begins with the spontaneous appearance of Chaos, Gaia, Tartaros, and Eros (116–122). By their emergence from nothing, without sources or parents, these four are separated from everything that follows."
^Wood, Alice (2008).Of Wing and Wheels: A synthetic study of the Biblical cherubim. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. Vol. 385.ISBN978-3-11-020528-2.
^Anthony Grafton; Glenn W. Most; Salvatore Settis, eds. (2010). "Cupid".The Classical Tradition.Harvard University Press. pp. 244–246.
^"First of all the gods she devised Erōs." (Parmenides, fragment 13.) (The identity of the "she" is unclear, as Parmenides' work has survived only in fragments.
Hard, Robin,The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004,ISBN9780415186360.Google Books.
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